The Church Provides Thanksgiving Baskets

Last Saturday, hands came together…a couple of hundred hands…Feeding Hands from 15 different churches…Feeding Hands with a heart to follow Christ…a heart to be His hands…a heart to love their neighbor as themselves…many churches being THE Church…united together so others may believe. We walked the perimeter Friday night, praying for all who would come. Praying that Jesus would be glorified.

"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one…And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” John 17:20-21

We were one and the world noticed on Saturday. There was a man whose heart has been rather like the Grinch since he began coming over a year ago. He not only wanted nothing to do with people. He wanted nothing to do with God. He picked up his basket, and three times that evening he called his friend who introduced him to Feeding Hands. He expressed how much love he felt. He expressed how they made him feel so good. He said in 25 years that he has lived here, he has never felt so much love. He said he felt God was there! His friend asked him if he would like her to pray for him. And he agreed! On Tuesday, we received a card from him. A card he had to go out of his way to pick up. It said, “In Gratitude.” And in his own hand he wrote, “Impressed” and he signed his name. The world is impressed when Jesus shows up. And Jesus shows up when we are about his business. Stepping outside the walls of what we call our churches, we become The church reaching out in love to those in need.

Our regular guests have seen this in action on a monthly basis. They shared the impact of “following and tending to the business of the Father” in the thank you cards that they eagerly filled out when they came for their baskets. The cards they created expressed gratefulness to all of you who provide the food, donate your time and your support to make this possible. They are beautiful testimonies from their perspective of the love and care that followers bestow on our guests week in and week out.

"Thank you for all you have done to bless our family in our time of need. What a loving group of people who won’t even let us carry our bags. They treat us as people not beggars. Thank god for you."

"Thank you everone[sic] for all you have done for my children and myself. It means a lot to us that there are people like yourself’s [sic] that help people like us. Words can’t express how grateful we are. God Bless."

Some of these words hurt my heart. “Treat us as people not beggars…people like us.” How the chains of poverty segregate the people of God. You must sense that too many times they have not been loved as neighbors. This has to be why the poor are so close to His heart.

There are so many cards full of gratitude to share. We are making videos of the cards so more people will see what happens when The Church puts into action what we have studied and heard preached. Here is our first one. The question is, “What will you do with your hands?”

Donate at https://feedinghands.networkforgood.com/